Airmont is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County,

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, United States, located north of the state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, east of Suffern, south of Montebello, and west of Chestnut Ridge. The population was 10,166 at the 2020 census. The village of Airmont, incorporated in 1991, is a consolidation of the hamlets of Tallman, Airmont and South Monsey. Joseph Berger of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote in a 1997 article that Airmont was one of several Ramapo villages formed "to preserve the sparse Better Homes and Garden ambiance that attracted them to Rockland County." In 2005, Peter Applebome of ''The New York Times'' said that Airmont was "slapped around enough by the courts to be something other than a virginal player in any discrimination case" since it ran into legal resistance to its development laws.Applebome, Peter.
Where Zoning Seems a Test of Tolerance
" ''

''. June 15, 2005. Retrieved on May 2, 2009.

History

In April 1991, creation of the village of Airmont was allowed in the town. Airmont had 9,500 people, including around 250

Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tr ...

and many non-Orthodox Jews. The founders of the town said that they intended for "strong zoning" to preserve the character of the community. William P. Barr, the

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

, and Otto G. Obermaier, the

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York The United States attorney for the Southern District of New York is the United States Attorney, chief federal law enforcement officer in eight contiguous New York counties: the counties (coextensive boroughs of New York City) of New York County, ...

, filed a suit against Airmont and the town of Ramapo; Barr and Obermaier said that Airmont created a zoning plan intended to exclude Orthodox Jews from living in the village and "that other individuals acting at the behest of the defendants have engaged in a pattern of harassment against Orthodox Jews in the village."Sullivan, Ronald.
Rockland County Village Accused of Bias in Zoning
" ''

''. December 18, 1991. The officials cited the

Fair Housing Act The Civil Rights Act of 1968 () is a Lists of landmark court decisions, landmark law in the United States signed into law by President of the United States, United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during the King assassination riots. Titles ...

as the relevant law.UNITED STATES FILES CIVIL RIGHTS SUIT AGAINST THE VILLAGE OF AIRMONT, NEW YORK
." ''

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

''. June 13, 2005. The plaintiffs said that, because many Orthodox do not travel by car on Saturdays, preventing the creation of a

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

would exclude Orthodox from the community. The Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith supported the suit. The Spring Valley Chapter of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

had opposed the creation of Airmont. As a result of the suit Airmont revised its zoning code to allow religious sites. Airmont's zoning restricted synagogues to lots, which were too costly for most Orthodox congregations. A federal judge ruled that the code was discriminatory and ordered Airmont to revise the code; the legal case continued by 1997. Around 2005, Congregation Mischknois Lavier Yakov proposed building a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

and a boarding school with a 70-adult student dormitory (with provisions for their families, which could result in a population of several hundred individuals) on of land. Town residents opposed this, causing legal action including meetings and lawsuits. In 2005, the U.S. federal government filed a civil rights lawsuit accusing Airmont of discriminating on the basis of religion and violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) and the

by banning boarding houses. In 2011, Airmont and the federal government reached a settlement and Airmont agreed to amend its zoning code to allow Mischknois Lavier Yakov to build a school with student housing. The agreement included a $10,000 civil penalty against Airmont and marked the second time federal prosecutors had intervened in Airmont zoning affairs since its 1991 incorporation. In 2018 nothing has happened and the zoning has expired. The congregation complex will most likely never happen. On December 2, 2020, the Department of Justice filed another lawsuit, alleging that there was religious discrimination through land use policies that violate previous court rulings and federal law. In September 2021, the Republican deputy mayor of Airmont, Brian Downey, was arrested on multiple weapons charges after police discovered 16 assault weapons, 13 illegal silencers, and other guns and gun parts inside his home while executing a search warrant. Investigators also found a stash of fake IDs, including fake FBI credentials. In February 2023, Downey pled guilty to a federal gun charge as part of a plea deal; by pleading guilty to a felony, he automatically forfeited his position as deputy mayor under New York state law. In October 2023, the Department of Justice settled its discrimination lawsuit with the village, over zoning of places of worship. Negotiation of the settlement was assisted by the fact that, since the lawsuit had been filed, control of the Village Board had passed to the local Hasidic community and its allies.

Geography

Airmont is located at (41.099163, -74.100011). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of , all land. The southern boundary of the village is the border of

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 7,799 people, 2,342 households, and 2,032 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 2,362 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 86.3%

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3.5%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, .17% Native American, 2.53% Asian, .03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 5.26% of the population. There were 2,342 households, out of which 41.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 78.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.2% were non-families. 11.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.20 and the average family size was 3.47. In the village, the population was spread out, with 27.9% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males. The median income for a household in the village was $87,678, and the median income for a family was $97,960. Males had a median income of $67,663 versus $36,550 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $29,788. About 1.6% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, there were 10,166 people, and 2,571 households in the city. The population density was 2,226.9 people per square mile, compared with 1,858.3 in 2010. The racial makeup of the city was 81.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 4.9%

, 0.0% Native American, 2.5% Asian, 0.0%

, and 4.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 15.2% of the population. 33.5% of the population were under 18, and 6.6% were under 5. Those over 65 years old made up 14.9% of the population. The gender makeup of Airmont was 52% female, and 48% male. The median household income was $98,750, and the per capita income was $34,051. 10.9% of the population were under the poverty line.

Government

The village is governed by a mayor and board of trustees.

Tourism

Historical markers

* Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church - Church and Airmont roads * Dogwoods - 24 DeBaun Avenue

Landmark and places of interest

* Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded in 1715, by Palatine Germans in Mahwah, New Jersey. The church was incorporated in Rockland County in 1850, and the current edifice built in 1855. * Challenger Center for Space Science Education * Spook Rock, near Airmont, is the largest of the cluster of rocks located on Spook Rock Road and Highview Avenue in Airmont. The Tappan and Warawankogs of the Lenni-Lenape wolf tribes, members of the Algonquin Nation worshiped the

sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

stars A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night; their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed points of ...

, and a spirit called

Manitou Manitou () is the fundamental life force in the theologies of Algonquian peoples. It is said to be omnipresent and manifests everywhere: organisms, the environment, events, etc. ''Aashaa monetoo'' means "good spirit", while ''otshee monetoo ...

Education

Most of Airmont is within the Suffern Central School District (formerly Ramapo Central). Zoned schools include Cherry Lane Elementary School (2013 National Blue Ribbon School), Suffern Middle School, and Suffern High School (New York State Reward School). Some residents, particularly in the far eastern portion of the village, are zoned to East Ramapo Central School District.Educational Resources
" ''Village of Airmont''. Retrieved on May 27, 2017. Central United Talmudical Academy of Monsey is in Airmont. Rockland Community College, part of the SUNY system, is near Airmont.

Notable person

Lipa Schmeltzer Lipa Schmeltzer (, ; born March 17, 1978) is an American singer, entertainer, and composer. He is a headliner in Hasidic as well as modern Jewish communities worldwide. He has released 19 solo albums. Family background Born March 17, 1978, Sch ...

(1978 - ) is an American Hasidic singer and composer

References

External links

Airmont official website
{{authority control Villages in New York (state) Villages in Rockland County, New York